Tyne and Wear Metro services will remain suspended between Wallsend and Tynemouth until Thursday 5th November. This is as a result of urgent repairs needed to a bridge in North Shields following the discovery of structural damage during a planned infrastructure inspection.
The planned inspection was one of the sundry jobs which Nexus were undertaking on the Metro whilst there was a major line closure between St James and Monkseaton for engineering works over the October half-term holidays. Whilst this work will be completed as planned by the start of Monday 2nd November, repairs needed to the bridge mean that there will be an additional closure for a further three days.
From Monday 2nd November until Wednesday 4th November the following services will run on the Yellow line:
- South Shields to Tynemouth via Whitley Bay
- St James to Wallesend
A replacement bus will then run between Wallsend and Tynemouth. This will be operating every 20 minutes and is expected to be very busy. Anyone wishing to travel from the coast to Newcastle City Centre are advised to travel on the Metro via Benton.
The bridge in North Shields was already closed to off to the public and goes across the Metro line between North Shields and Tynemouth stations. The inspection has shown that it needs immediate and substantial repairs, and these can only be carried out safely when the Metro is not running.
Kevin Storey, Operations Director at Nexus, said: “We need to carry out immediate repair works on this disused bridge at North Shields. This will require an extended line closure between Wallsend and Tynemouth until Thursday.
“The issue with the bridge’s stonework was identified during a planned inspection which took place this week. The scale of the work means that we must keep this section of the line closed to complete the repairs effectively and as safely as possible. Safety is always our top priority. We are investigating what may have caused the recent damage, including whether it was impacted by recent storms.
“It is not a quick job to repair this type of damage. We need to turn the power off for this section of the system and have scaffolding in place above the tracks.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers. We have ensured that a replacement bus service in the affected area will be running until the line re-opens.”